HANOI – Vietnam’s aviation sector is set to undergo the international aviation safety assessment program of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week to be eligible to launch direct flights to the country.

DANANG – Manufacturing enterprises operating in An Don Industrial Zone of Danang City have been encouraged to move to other sites as the industrial zone is scheduled to be converted into an urban area.

HCMC - Following the land fund scarcity in HCMC and a lack of transparency in build-transfer (BT) investment projects, the city government is striving to ensure transparency in these projects and compliance with laws, according to a news report by Dau Tu Tai Chinh.

HCMC – In response to a proposal by the Lao Cai provincial government for building the VND5.8-trillion Sapa Airport, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has requested the locality to thoroughly study the necessity and efficiency of the project, reported the local media.

HCMC – The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau is developing a soil bank on 11 hectares in Cai Nuoc District to store soil and mud dredged from the rivers for ground leveling. This is the first soil bank in the Mekong Delta.

HCMC - The HCMC government should immediately work with agencies under the Ministry of Transport to connect Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the city and Long Thanh International Airport, which is underway in Dong Nai Province, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said at a meeting with the HCMC government on August 3.

CAN THO - Power Engineering Consulting JSC 2 (PECC2) has recommended that Long An Province build a coal-fired power plant, as it is considered more cost-effective. Meanwhile, local authorities want to construct a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant for power generation, according to Le Minh Duc, director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

HCMC – The Finance Ministry has asked the People’s Committee of Hanoi City to not use public assets, especially public land, as payments to investors for transport infrastructure projects developed under the build-transfer (BT) format.

HCMC - Authorities of HCMC and Dong Nai Province met on August 3 to discuss the building of the Cat Lai bridge to connect the two localities, agreeing that the southern province will play a key role in constructing this important bridge.

HCMC – Twenty-five traffic infrastructure projects across the country have come to a standstill due to financial hardship. They need an additional VND11 trillion, or more than US$470 million, to resume construction, according to the Ministry of Transport.

HCMC – The Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN) has proposed setting up a system of supervision and carefully monitoring dams nationwide to promptly issue warnings to avoid calamities caused by a dam collapse similar to the Xe Pian - Xe Namnoy dam incident in in Laos’ Attapeu province.

HCMC – The HCMC government has proposed a joint scheme with the Ministry of Transport to finance Ring Road No. 3, which will connect the city with neighboring provinces, according to the municipal Department of Transport.

HCMC - Vietnam has received US$80 billion worth of official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans since 1993, making it the greatest beneficiary of this type of funding, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Pham Binh Minh.